Full Moon
by lulububbles11
Summary: Why did you come back here, it's only going to make it hurt more, I thought to myself as I ran by the house... his house... I don't care who or what you are, I growled in my thoughts, but you will pay for what you took from me... Crystal's loss will show her a world she never knew existed but was always destined to join. OC POV, Post BD, Rated M just in case
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Current Day_

This is not happening to me again, I thought as the panic threatened to overwhelm me. The police scene in front of me told a different story, however. I was about to lose my only companion, again, and suddenly, a hauntingly familiar scent met my nose, making me quiver in that weird way again...

_Two Weeks Prior_

I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me, closing the trunk of my car and grabbing the last bag of groceries I had needed to pick up after Kevin suggested we have dinner together. My relationship with him could probably best be described as familiar. Since my father and his mother were good friends, he and I had grown up together. He was the one who had suggested that we try dating eachother. I was a little hesitant at first, not wanting to ruin a friendship that spanned more than a decade, but soon fell into an easy routine with Kevin. He seemed content, as I was, with how things had turned out so far.

We had had a few arguments, but he was with me through some of the roughest points in my life, as I was for him. He held my hand as I learned of my father's passing when the drunk driver clipped his car. He understood how much my father, the last remaining family member I had, meant to me. He had been my rock, my safe haven, and I found it surprisingly hard to let Kevin take over that role. I had always loved him, but recently I feared it wasn't in so much of a romantic light as it was a brotherly one. But since he had never really suggested we be more, I was not about to scare away the only remaining person I had to turn to. He understood me and knew exactly what I came from and had been dealt with in life; I could always trust him to know which topics to avoid and which were safe. That's just what Kevin was to me I guess... safe.

After shoving the garlic bread in the oven, I began to brown the meatballs and cook the spaghetti sauce for our sandwiches. My stomach grumbled loudly... my appetite had been pretty much uncontrollable recently, but I blamed it on recent stress at my job. Before I could dwell on it too much, Kevin pulled up in his Ranger. As he came into the kitchen, I gave him a peck on the cheek, as a slightly unpleasant smell met my nose. It was almost a sickly sweet smell which irritated my nose, making me almost want to sneeze as a trembling sensation rippled down my spine.

"Baby, are you okay, you've got a strange look on your face."

Kevin startled me out of my train of thought. "Yeah, just allergies acting up I think." I gave him a small smile. He let the subject drop and an awkward silence fell over us. It hurt to think that I still wasn't fully comfortable with him. I knew it was only a matter of time until he became frustrated with my detached attitude. Shaking it off, I returned to cooking as Kevin checked a current game for the score on tv. I knew I was hurting him, but I couldn't offer up more of myself at this point. Not long after, I dished up and called Kevin into my small kitchen. I hadn't had the heart to sell my dad's place, after he gave it to me in his will. Shaking my head again, I handed Kevin his plate, noticing his cold skin as our hands brushed.

"Geez, been sticking your hand in an ice box?" I joked.

Kevin just stared at me.

"What," I snapped, irritated now.

"Baby, I'm fine, but you are burning up," he said as he placed the back of his hand on my forehead. "Shit you are way too hot, babe."

"I don't feel warm at all," I defended. His skin was just icy cold, why couldn't he see that? I was getting frustrated very quickly. I stopped that train of thought, surprised with myself. I had never been irritable with Kevin. I shook it off as the possible beginnings of a cold.

"I'll just take some tylenol and sleep it off," I shrugged. Kevin didn't seem so convinced, a fact which again aggravated me to an unnecessary degree. I calmed myself down as I faced Kevin, grumbling," Come on, let's just eat." My stomach grumbled loudly again, as if to emphasize my point, to which Kevin laughed for the first time tonight.

"From the sound of that, I won't argue with you," he chuckled.

I forced a smile in response to his attempt at cheeriness. I pretty much inhaled my food, and wound up eating half of Kevin's, too, after he claimed to be stuffed. He asked, astonished, "Where in the hell are you putting all that?"

I simply flipped him off, as I brushed my teeth after dinner, to which he simply snorted. When I was done, we settled in next to each other on my couch for a movie, but after about 10 min in, Kevin was again complaining about my temperature, saying I was making him sweat just being next to him. I could tell he didn't believe that I felt fine, and his concern irked me more. After assuring him for the millionth time that I was fine, I told him to go home and get some rest. He began to kiss me slowly, but as he pressed his tongue against my bottom lip, I broke away, frowning.

"Sorry, but I have to be up early," I whispered against his lips.

Kevin merely grunted in response, pulling away roughly. "Ok. Guess I'll see you in a couple days," he mumbled dejectedly. With that, he promptly walked out my front door, closing it loudly. I felt guilty for turning him down, but I just couldn't go there yet. I sighed, knowing I'd need to make it up to him tomorrow, but having no energy to do so tonight, so I simply collapsed into bed...

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see dark forest all around me. I immediately jumped to my feet, glancing around and finding nothing familiar, it was all just green. I began to panic, having no idea where the hell I was. What was worse, my senses were going haywire, and it felt like I could hear everything. A small rustling in the treeline to my right caught my attention, and I tensed up immediately as a large animal came carefully into the clearing. At first sight, I thought it was a bear, but as it came closer, I could make out the features of a gigantic gray wolf with tan markings. That's when I realized the wolf was heading straight for me. Really panicking now, my eyes darted around, looking for any possible escape route while a nasty inner voice sneered, "Don't bother, it's not like you can outrun it." I began to build up a scream for help, hoping futilely that somebody would be close enough to hear me. The scream died in my throat, however, as the wolf's eyes locked with my own. I was frozen, staring into these deep chocolate pools, and somehow I got the sneaking suspicion that these eyes held the meaning of life. I took a step towards the wolf, reaching a hand out to its muzzle. The voice in my head that should be screaming at me that this was an idiotic idea was strangely silent. I stretched my fingers out to the wolf, inches away from coming into contact with its thick fur. Just as I was about to reach it, the screeching of my alarm clock pulled me back into reality roughly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hell. That was the only way I could describe my day. I was distracted at work by my dream, and my senses were out of whack. It was so odd...almost like I was overly sensitive to sights, sounds, smells and tastes and I couldn't explain it. Finally, one of my employees who had noticed my distracted state offered to look after the shop so I could go home early. Monica was such a great employee, I would have to make sure and get her an extra special birthday present next week for this.

While checking my phone for the hundredth time today, I sent an apology message to Kevin for last night, only to have it be rejected. Sighing, I decided to surprise him with his favorite meal to make up for my spastic behavior over the last few days. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door, deciding that the mile trek to the store would be a good opportunity to clear my head. I simply loped along at an easy pace and in what seemed like too little time, I was at the store. After grabbing everything on my list, I started back towards home, fueled by a sudden surge of energy. Seemingly out of nowhere, my nose was assaulted with the same sickeningly sweet scent as yesterday, stopping me in my tracks. This was much more concentrated, and I couldn't help but focus on the source...

I found myself staring at a tall, beautiful woman with flowing strawberry blond hair and skin so light that it could have been made of porcelain. She was undeniably gorgeous, but for some reason, I felt acutely aware of impending danger as my eyes swept over her face. All of a sudden, the woman's scorching pair of golden butterscotch eyes stared into my own. Immediately, I felt all of my body hair stand straight up and a low, menacing growl met my ears. Shocked, I found it to be coming from my own lips. The face of the woman in front of me slipped for a second into a look of shock and disbelief, but just as quickly as it was there, it was gone, making me believe I was going crazy. Mumbling an apology to the stranger who no doubt thought I was nuts, I slipped past her and ran the rest of the way home. This really was getting ridiculous, I thought to myself. I just couldn't shake the feeling of those eyes, it made me squirm uncomfortably for reasons I couldn't understand.

The beeping of my cell alerting me to a text broke me out of my thoughts, making me jump a little. Laughing at my own ridiculousness, I grabbed it to see I had a message from Kevin telling me he was working late and that he would see me this weekend, maybe. I sighed, knowing it was my fault that we were having so many issues, but not knowing how to fix them. I really wanted to let Kevin in further, but it was like every time I tried, I would run into an emotional roadblock that I just couldn't get around.

Frustrated, I suddenly had the urge to run to take my mind of things. After changing into shorts and a tank and grabbing my iPod, I was off. I took one of the many hiking paths near my house I was fairly familiar with and started jogging. I was startled when I reached the end of the path in just under a half hour, and even more shocked to find I wasn't really even out of breath after going 3 miles. Shaking my head, I turned around and walked slowly back to my house, trying to focus on the scenery and not on my new physical ability. It just didn't seem possible to me, how did I run that fast, and why was I not a sweaty, shaking pile of exhaustion afterwards?

As I reached my front door, I was still trying to blow it all off. Maybe I was losing my mind, I thought bitterly. After a quick shower, I began to make myself anther large dinner since I found myself ravenous. I once again attacked my food with a vengeance, thinking, at least I'm exercising what with how much I've been eating. I loaded my dish washer, started it up, and then tried to immerse myself in the tv. But after staring at it blankly for an hour, I decided it was pointless and just went to bed early.

This time when I woke up in the forest, I wasn't afraid. It was the same clearing as last night, but I hadn't caught sight of the wolf yet, and my heart started pounding in anticipation. Why I was so eager to see this beast which certainly could kill me without thinking twice was beyond me. I started getting irked when the creature didn't show up as minutes passed. Where are you at, I thought, now starting to get a little worried. However, where I should be worried about this powerful creature appearing and harming me, I was more concerned with its absence. Surely something that strong can take care of itself, stop worrying, I chastised myself in my head. I heard a rustling to my left and glanced into the trees, trying as hard as I could to make out the wolf. It wasn't the wolf that emerged this time, though. Surprised, I watched as Kevin walked out of the shadows then stopped, eyeing me cautiously. I was about to ask him what he was doing here when I caught sight of his deep red eyes. This wasn't my Kevin; his skin was impossibly white, like ivory, and the sickly sweet smell coming off him wasn't his own. Suddenly, the wolf from last night appeared, moving to place himself squarely between me and Kevin, growling lowly in his direction, obviously in warning. In response, Keven shifted into a crouch and let out a low hiss before charging the wolf. The wolf bared its teeth and let out a terrible roar before running straight towards him. As the two were about to crash head-on, I felt myself screaming and suddenly sat straight up in bed, shouting, "NO!"


	3. Chapter 3

I was exceedingly cranky at work today after my dream filled, restless sleep last night. Between that and the fact I was wracking my brain still trying to decide what the damn dreams meant, I was sure I wasn't a real peach to work with. Monica seemed aware of my overall aura and made extra certain I didn't have to deal with any of our difficult customers today which made me grateful to her again. I need to give that girl a raise, I thought to myself as she explained for the umpteenth time to Ms. Schenkler how to switch her dog to a new food gradually. As I shot her an appreciative smile which she returned brightly, I went in back to take stock and finish the supply order sheet for the following week.

As I was rotating a specific brand, my phone buzzed and the screen lit up with Kevin's name. Sighing, I opened his text to find that he wanted to have coffee with me on Sunday. I was a little put off that he didn't want to see me earlier, but I couldn't fully blame him after the way I had been acting recently. I quickly typed in that I would see him then and closed my phone. I got back to work, finishing my order and placing it online with my suppliers. After excusing my employees, I closed up for the night, happy to finally be done for the week. Saturdays Monica opened the shop and managed the employees, so unless they had a major crisis, I had no plans of going in tomorrow.

After I got home I still felt extremely keyed up, and went for another hike, this time not even paying attention to the distance or the time it took me. I just felt the beat from my headphones and matched my pace to it, going in a steady rhythm. The now familiar sickly sweet smell met my nose as I reached my house, making me feel uneasy as yet another tremble shivered down my spine, this one more powerful than the rest. Maybe my muscles are spasming from the sudden increase in running, I thought to myself. I latched onto the theory, willing myself to actually believe it, and failing. Still shuddering slightly, I made my way inside, away from the eerie smell where I could think more rationally. When I walked inside, though, I was just reminded of how thoroughly starved I felt and made two heaping cheese steak sandwiches and two loaded baked potatoes. After eating almost the whole meal, I finally felt full and was able to lose myself in an old book of mine. A couple hours later, my bed was calling my name and after changing into my sweats and a soft cotton tank I sunk into a deep slumber.

This time when I opened my eyes, I was in a pine forest and I couldn't tell if it was near my home in Alaska or somewhere else altogether. I inhaled the rich air deeply, as a woodsy scent washed over me seconds before I felt a hot breath on my shoulder. I whipped around, expecting to be met with the chocolate eyes of the wolf in my dreams but instead looking into the steely slate covered eyes of a strange man. He was pretty tall, about 6 feet 6 inches which I only knew because Kevin was 6 feet even, and this guy seemed half a foot taller. The heat rolling off his body hit me, making me step back a couple feet.

As I stared at his handsome face, I was a bit confused by his expression. His eyebrows were lifted and his shoulders were slightly hunched as if to say, "What are you waiting for?"

Still not getting at what he was expecting from me I blurted out, "What do you want from me?"

His brows furrowed as he frowned slightly and then he spread out both arms, shaking his head as if to say, "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, you have to tell me, I don't get it," I mumbled.

I wasn't sure he even heard me until he chuckled, eyes lighting up for the first time, dancing with amusement.

"Glad to know my confusion is funny to you," I snapped adding a slight growl at the end automatically, although I hadn't the faintest idea why.

He straightened up a little at that and though his eyes were still lit up he finally replied in a deep, rough voice "I cannot tell you what I myself do not know. It is up to you to find out, I would actually like to know myself."

It was no surprise me that I woke up with a splitting headache the next morning...


	4. Chapter 4

I usually headed straight for the coffee pot after a restless night's sleep, but for some reason it felt unnecessary this morning. My stomach made its presence known then with a loud gurgle that made me instantly start digging in the fridge for breakfast. An hour and another huge plate of food later found me sitting back down with my book on the couch, trying to lose myself in it. At the end of the first page, my thoughts wandered back to the man in my dream last night. I had struggled to recall as many memories as possible, thinking maybe I had met him or at least seen him around some, but came up empty. I would have remembered those steely eyes, defined jawline and hair that reminded me of deep mahogany. His words had unnerved me, and I couldn't help but feel that there was something I was missing.

I started to get frustrated again at this point, and thought to myself, why are you reading so much into this? It was just a dream, let it go already!

For some reason though, I was incapable of simply dropping it. I wonder if mental issues are an issue in my mother's family, I thought snidely. If it did, I would never even know. Shortly after my birth my darling mother paid a visit to my shocked father during which she told him she was fairly sure he was my father. After handing over a form signing away her rights, she said have fun and walked out. My father liked to tell the story of how he instantly fell in love with my squished up nose and ice blue eyes which actually turned out to be my final eye color. His parents made him get a paternity test when he told them, even though he vehemently opposed, saying that he loved me no matter what. Luckily they convinced him it was the only way to guarantee custody of me, and he quickly became more compliant. Turns out he was my true flesh and blood, and was the best dad I could have had.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I thought of him and I swiped at it quickly, not wanting to begin all out bawling as I often did after thinking of him and how much I missed him. To refocus my thoughts I blared some upbeat music, swaying my hips to the beat as I started on tidying up my house. A few hours later my house was sparklingly clean, and I was feeling pretty good as I started my dinner a little bit early, as I was hungry yet again. I settled for the simplicity of 3 grilled cheese sandwiches and a can of tomato soup, watching tv while I ate.

I couldn't help but notice that my phone hadn't gone off once today, which meant that Kevin was still angry. I sent him a quick text asking how he was and if he had anything fun planned for the night. He didn't reject this one, and I got a message almost instantly. Even though it was a little short and to the point, I was relieved he was talking to me again. He simply said he was fine and was heading out with the guys for the night. I had to roll my eyes at this; Kevin had just turned 21 last month and took every opportunity to rub in my nose the fact that he could go out drinking while I couldn't, being only 18. My father had passed away when I was 16 and, not wanting to go into foster care, I was legally emancipated. The only reason the courts agreed was because I had steady income from my father's pet store which Kevin had agreed to run until I turned 18. He was more than happy to turn the keys and deed over to me 6 months ago and return to community college as he wasn't the biggest fan of animals, go figure.

I decided a little later it was time to get ready for bed. As I slipped under my blankets, I couldn't help but wonder what my dreams would be tonight...

I wasn't surprised in the least to see the rich green of the forest from my first dream. I waited for the wolf to come out, thinking again how stupid it was to be so excited to see it. It didn't disappoint and slipped from the trees so quietly that I wouldn't have seen it if I wasn't watching for it. I didn't feel any fear this time, which surprised me. The wolf approached slowly, almost like it was afraid I'd spook and run. Like I could if I even wanted to, I thought.

The wolf's face split into a huge grin, which made me wonder if it was really a wild animal I was dealing with here. I noticed again the chocolate eyes and got lost in them for a moment. There is definitely more intelligence there than a normal wolf, I couldn't help but think. The wolf closed the distance between us then and promptly licked my cheek, but its tongue was so large it encompassed the whole right side of my face.

"Ack, ew," I giggled as I tried to gently push the wolf's face away then wiped my face off on my sleeve. When I could see out of both eyes, I saw the mischief dancing in the wolf's eyes. "Definitely not a real wolf," I mumbled to myself, to which it chuffed at me.

The wolf came up behind me, nudging my back with it's massive head, making me sit on the damp ground. It then curled itself around me so my back was pressed against its side and its head rested limply in my lap. I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me I hadn't felt since Wednesday and finally fell into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up feeling more rested than I had all week. While stretching my arms above my head, I glanced at the clock in my room, yawning. A panic set in; I had only 20 minutes to get ready and make it to the coffee shop 10 minutes away. I snatched my phone off the nightstand, wondering why my alarm had not gone off. As I pushed the unlock button I got my answer, my phone was completely dead. Scoffing at my bad luck, I hooked up my charger and let it set while I threw on the closest clean clothes, dark blue jeans and a purple long-sleeve shirt.

After yanking a brush through my hair and rinsing my mouth with mouthwash, I grabbed my phone off the charger, turning it on as I hurried out to my car. I glanced at my phone as I warmed up the car, seeing 3 missed texts from Kevin. Damn it all, I thought as I paged through them. Apparently, he had wanted to meet half an hour earlier, and was a little miffed that I hadn't answered last night. I rushed into the coffee shop after finding a spot up front and quickly spotted Kevin on a couch with two coffees in front of him. Either he had gotten me one or he'd been here for a while, I hoped it wasn't the latter. As I slid in next to him he finally glanced up from the paper in his lap.

"You lose your phone again?" He asked rather rudely.

"No, it died and I didn't realize that until I got up 25 minutes ago, sorry," I mumbled my apology.

Kevin just stared out the large windows in the front of the shop. It was a while before he finally spoke again. "I got you your favorite, you should drink it before it gets cold."

"Thanks," I breathed, grabbing it and taking a sip, surprised to find peppermint, not pumpkin spice, but I smiled and continued drinking it anyway, not wanting to upset Kevin further. "I was thinking of making your favorite tonight or tomorrow, if you'd like to come over," I finally offered, hoping he would stop being so mad at me.

"I have to work late all next week, that's why I asked you out today. I won't be able to do anything until Saturday, and the guys are having a poker night. Can we do Sunday?"

Although I was a bit hurt he would see his friends again before he saw me, I didn't want to push my luck right now. "Okay. I can make some bean dip for Saturday if you want."

"Sweet, your dip is the best," he finally cracked a smile, and I knew I was mostly forgiven. After that, we fell into an easy conversation and I smiled, missing when we used to be this carefree all the time, but that was before the accident...

An hour and another coffee later, Kevin walked me to my car. As I began to unlock it, he grasped my wrist, turning me around to face him. I was about to ask what he was doing when he pressed his lips firmly to mine. I responded, gently molding my lips to his as his tongue pressed against my lower lip. This time I didn't pull away and our tongues tangled together until he pulled back, panting slightly.

"I'm sorry I've been such an ass lately," he whispered.

"I haven't exactly been a joy, either," I replied, giggling as he pecked me on my lips again and again.

"I love your laugh," he confessed.

We finally separated and said goodbye as I climbed into my car and headed home, smiling to myself. After I got back to my house, I started on my laundry then answered my email, humming lightly to myself the whole time. I started the second load then decided to get out of the house and go for another hike. This time I didn't catch the odd smell, and I smiled as I slipped through my front door. After another early dinner I got lost in my book again while finishing my laundry. A few hours in my phone beeped with a text. I couldn't stop the grin as I read Kevin's text:

Can't wait to see u Sunday beautiful. Sweet dreams.

Unfortunately the feeling of peace from the text did not follow into my dream which left me with an uneasy feeling...

As soon as my eyes were met with the bright green forest they started scanning for the wolf. I finally honed in on its form, still somewhat in the shadows ,eyeing me furtively. It hadn't looked at me like that before, and I didn't like it. A feeling of guilt washed over, but I couldn't fathom why as I had done nothing wrong. The wolf stomped its foot almost impatiently.

"I don't know what you want," I whispered, knowing I was too far away to be heard.

The wolf continued to stare at me, almost pleading with me, for what I had no idea, but it nearly killed me to not be able to soothe its pain...

I shot up in bed, tangled in my sheets with a sheen of sweat on my forehead. So much for my peaceful sleep, I thought.


	6. Chapter 6

My restless night made it difficult to get started the next day. After grabbing two large pumpkin spice lattes, I began what turned out to be a very long day. Top it off with the fact that one of my newest hires had unexpectedly quit, and I was ready to scream by the end of the day. Kevin texted me to let me know he had been offered an internship at the end of his schooling. I tried to be happy for him, but I was emotionally and physically drained, and only mattered a short reply of "Sounds great, congrats" before digging into the takeout I had picked up on my way home. After, I only wanted to crawl into bed and attempt to pass out.

As I was finally drifting off, I realized that today was the second day in a row I hadn't smelled the strange odor, and my senses had been normal, too. Hopefully that was a sign things were getting better. My dream was the same as the night before, the wolf staring at me impatiently, imploring me to take some sort of action. Needless to say I didn't get much more sleep that night than I did the last.

Tuesday and Wednesday passed much in the same way... Work was hectic, what with us being shorthanded, and I had only managed to schedule 2 interviews for Thursday, neither of which looked too promising. My dream was the same each night, the wolf almost burning holes into me with its pleading stare, making me fidget uncomfortably until I woke up, heart aching for the animal.

Thursday wasn't exceptionally better. As I had feared, neither of my applicants were what I was looking for at all. The only upside was I'd manged to schedule an interview for tomorrow with a well qualified person who had just applied today (while I was at lunch, of course). Kevin texted me to make sure we were still on for Sunday and to ask what time I expected him. I smiled before texting him back the details, adding in that I couldn't wait to see him, trying to put in as much enthusiasm as I could. I was dead tired, though and after eating another big dinner went straight to bed. Finally, the wolf in my dream relented somewhat and instead of staring at me chose to fixate on the ground in front of it, glancing almost apologetically at me every once in a while. Glad that it seemed to be over whatever was bothering it before, my sleep wasn't quite so restless.

With more sleep and the weekend around the corner, it was much easier to get moving on Friday than it had been the rest of the week. My new found energy allowed me to plow into my work and get the majority of my order supply list completed before lunchtime. After eating two large sandwiches and a bag of chips I had packed the night before, my applicant arrived. It couldn't have gone better, and I offered her a position on the spot which she readily accepted. I introduced her to the staff I had there today, and she hit it off instantly with Monica, much to my delight. Soon after she left I completed my order and sent it in earlier than usual. I kept busy helping the lightened staff up front until it was time to close.

When I got home, I just couldn't get settled, and was bursting with energy. I didn't think twice before starting on another hiking path near my home, enjoying the beat and the sights around me. I breathed the pine smell in deeply, content for the first time all week. I was about halfway home when the unpleasantly sweet odor attacked my nose, making me stop as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I felt oddly exposed, and my body began quivering, almost as if in response to an unseen danger. I suddenly felt that it was not safe for me to be here and reflexively ran straight home. As soon as I was through the front door, I slammed it, sliding the deadbolt closed. I collapsed against the door, trying to steady my heart. Away from the smell and ominous surroundings I began to chastise myself for letting my imagination get to me. But I couldn't fully contain my quivering which continued as I prepared and scarfed down my food. My adrenaline rush had zapped all energy I had had earlier, and I crawled into bed with my book for a couple hours before turning off the light and snuggling under the covers.

I eyed the bright green forest wearily... I wasn't sure I could handle too much more tonight after my earlier scare. The wolf somehow seemed to know exactly how I was feeling and what I needed as it simply nudged me until I was sitting and curled itself around me.

"Thank you," I managed to whisper as the wolf let out a soft sigh before I plunged into a dreamless sleep...


	7. Chapter 7

Most of Saturday was spent cleaning the house and doing laundry, trying to keep my mind from wandering back to yesterday evening. I blared some music, which helped me to focus on other things. Unfortunately, I ran out of things to do around the house at about 4. I didn't want to go for another hike and risk a repeat of yesterday. So I simply curled up with my book, actually able to lose myself in the story this time. I was so into my reading that the sound of my doorbell made me jump. I quickly rushed over to answer it, surprised to see Kevin on my front step until I remembered the bean dip sitting in my fridge.

"Hey gorgeous," he smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Hi," I giggled as his light touch tickled my skin. I pulled his hand away from my face and led him into the kitchen.

"How was your week," he asked politely.

"Ack, I don't even want to think about it."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry to hear that, maybe I can make it better." He bent down and brushed his lips against mine, kissing me softly. He pulled back, only to pepper my face with light kisses, making me giggle again. He glanced up at the clock, groaning. "I've gotta get going, the guys are expecting me in ten minutes."

"Don't sound so excited," I joked as I got the dip out of the fridge.

"You make it difficult to leave," he breathed swooping in for another quick kiss. "But if I don't get there soon with the dip the guys might riot in the street."

"Is my dip really riot worthy," I laughed.

"To the guys, yes," he said seriously, which only made me laugh harder.

"Whatever, get going, I don't have bail money for your friends."

Kevin smiled, grabbed the bean dip, kissed me again, then skipped out the front door, calling out, "See you tomorrow sweetheart."

Still laughing lightly, I reheated some of the pasta I had made last night. While it warmed up, I poked around the kitchen, making sure I had everything to make the chicken fried steak tomorrow for Kevin. At least I don't have to fit in a shopping run tomorrow, I thought happily. I ate my food as soon as it was cool enough that it wouldn't burn my tongue, surprised that I still had this much of an appetite. After starting the dishwasher, I attempted to go back to my book, but my mind was wandering too much.

I couldn't help but think of the wolf from my dreams. Why had it suddenly become friendly again last night, and would it still be that way tonight? What had upset it in the first place, and why did I care so much? It's not like I could control my dreams, and it was doing me no good to dwell on it. I decided to head up to bed early and fell asleep right away despite my busy brain.

The wolf was curled around me when I opened my eyes to the brilliant green. It chuffed lightly and nudged me back into its side before I plunged yet again into a deep dreamless sleep.

I woke up late again on Sunday, feeling extremely refreshed after my second peaceful nights rest in a row. After indulging in a large breakfast, I hopped in the shower. I towled my hair dry then grabbed my book again and started where I had left off. When the alarm on my phone went off I started on dinner, paying extra attention to make sure it was perfect. I rushed upstairs when I had 15 minutes left and changed into my dark purple long-sleeved v-neck and a pair of dark blue jeans which hugged my curves. Knowing how much Kevin loved my long, slightly curly hair I decided to leave it down and not style it. I rushed back downstairs just as my doorbell rang. I opened it to a clean shaven Kevin in dark wash jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. He was holding a dozen roses out to me, and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Hey babe," he greeted, pulling me into his arms and kissing me slowly. "Damn, it smells good in here," he groaned as he let go of me.

Laughing, I went to dish up, then brought both plates back into the room and we dug in. Kevin and I fell into easy conversation about our weeks, and I couldn't help but wish it could be like this between us all the time. After dinner, I offered Kevin desert, and he looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"If I eat another bite I think I'll explode," he joked as he made his way into the living room.

Smiling at his exaggeration, I followed him with a small piece of the banana cream pie I had made. Kevin just looked at the plate and shook his head mumbling something about bottomless pits. I popped the back of his head while he just grinned, putting in a movie and starting it up. About halfway through, I was no longer paying attention to the movie, but to Kevin's hand, which was tracing random patterns on my calf. I couldn't stop the shiver that passed through me.

"Cold," Kevin asked.

"No," I responded staring into his dark blue eyes. I gently cupped his cheek with my right hand while my thumb traced his lips. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. I leaned forward, heart pounding, and gently pressed my lips against his. He responded immediately, tangling his fingers into the hair at the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I pressed my tongue against his bottom lip, making him gasp as our tongues met, battling for dominance. We continued kissing until we finally had to break apart for air. We began kissing each other's necks instead, and Kevin pulled my left earlobe into his mouth, nipping slightly, causing me to moan. He recaptured my mouth as he placed his hand on my hips. I slid down so he was almost laying on top of me as our tongues continued to dance. His right hand slid up to the hem of my shirt and his fingers splayed across my ribs under my shirt. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped, being very ticklish.

Kevin seemed reluctant to move further so I guided his hand upward and he cupped my breasts through my bra. He slipped his hand to my back, but I pulled away to stop him, and he sighed in disappointment.

"Don't look so sad," I laughed. "The hook is in the front."

His face broke out in a wide grin at that and I laughed again as I unhooked the bra and removed it and my shirt.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, and I couldn't help the blush that broke out on my face. Kevin grasped my face and our tongues continued to fight for dominance as he slipped his hand to my breast and began squeezing gently. Quiet moans escaped my mouth before I could help it. After what seemed like forever, we broke apart, gasping for air.

"I love you," Kevin breathed.

My heart beat sped up, and I began to panic. Kevin seemed so notice my breath hitch and quickly reassured me, "You don't have to say it back now, I just wanted to let you know how happy you make me."

"You're awesome," was all I could manage before I threw my arms around him, holding him tight.

"It's getting late, I gotta get going, I'm going in early tomorrow."

"Okay," I frowned, making Kevin laugh. "But I am making you dinner Tuesday."

"Not gonna argue with that," Kevin smiled. He kissed me a few more times before forcing himself off the couch and to the front door. "See you later, babe," he said before swooping in for a final kiss. I smiled against his lips.

"Bye." He walked out to his car and took off down the street. I smiled as I got ready for bed and slipped underneath my covers. I had a hard time getting to sleep, and wished I hadn't been able to when I entered that night's dream...

I wasn't surprised to see the bright green, but I was shocked when I caught sight of the wolf. Its teeth were bared, every hair on its body standing up and it was staring straight at me. I instantly felt guilty, but for what I didn't know. I tossed and turned that night, and woke up groggy on Monday. Little did I know my dreams were the least of my worries...


	8. Chapter 8

After the caffeine run that was quickly becoming routine, I made my way to the pet store and opened the doors Monday morning. Monica arrived shortly after I did, and my new hire, Ashley, was right behind her. Monica seemed to sense that I was on edge today and so took it upon herself to start Ashley's training, sparing me the extra work. I smiled graciously at Monica when I caught her eye and she waved her hand like it was no big deal. I was able to get a lot done by lunchtime thanks to Monica taking over training. After sending a quick text to Kevin to tell him I couldn't wait for tomorrow, I decided to check in with her. She was showing Ashley the master products and brands list, pointing out the descriptions which were very helpful when customers had questions. Since she had everything under control, I went back into my office to finish the payroll form for this pay period. The rest of the day passed in a blur and before I knew it, closing time had arrived. Monica helped me shut down the store, and I turned to her as we were leaving.

"Thanks for being so great with Ashley today," I thanked her.

"No worries. You okay, though, you've been a little off lately," she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, just strange dreams," I shrugged it off.

"Well, you know I'm here if you need anything," she offered, and I couldn't stop my laugh as she patted my shoulder. Our boss-employee relationship was kinda switched in that aspect; she was always the one trying to help me.

"Thanks, Monica. I can always count on..." I trailed off as I noticed the horrified look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Your skin is _burning_," she gasped. "Seriously, I think you should check your temperature when you get home, it might be bad enough to go into the ER."

"I've been getting fevers off and on for a few days," I shrugged. I didn't want to tell her it had actually been 2 weeks and have her freak out more. "I think my sinuses are causing it, they've made me get fevers in the past" I added in to calm her more.

"If you're sure," Monica mumbled, though she didn't look fully convinced. "Just please make sure to check it when you get home."

"I will," I promised, though I had no intentions of doing so.

She gave me a soft hug and, still shaking her head at my temperature, walked over to her car. I slipped into my own car and made my way home. I felt strangely uneasy all of a sudden as I pulled into my driveway. I couldn't shake the feeling, and decided to go for a run to clear my head. The incident Saturday replayed in my head briefly before I forced myself to focus on the beat. I wasn't surprised when I yet again encountered the awful smell, but I was shocked by my body's reaction to it this time. My nose turned to the smell, every hair on my body standing at attention, muscles quivering uncontrollably. I felt an insane desire to follow the scent and eliminate its origins.

I shook my head roughly at the thought, what was wrong with me? I shouldn't feel this pull to hunt whatever this scent came from, especially when I didn't know what I would be facing if I did. I ran straight back to my house, not trusting myself to stop until I slid the dead bolt into place. My thoughts centered on the odd feelings I had felt in the forest while I cooked and ate my spaghetti. I just couldn't focus on anything else, and it didn't help that my body had not stopped shaking yet.

The piercing tone of my phone pulled me out of my thoughts. I frowned, knowing it wasn't any of my contacts as they each had their own unique ring tone. The screen flashed "unknown" across the screen and my frown deepened before I tapped the screen to answer. "Hello," my voice shook slightly.

"Am I speaking to Crystal Miller," a deep voice on the other line asked.

"Um, yes," it came out more as a question. "May I ask who this is?"

"Ms. Miller, this is Officer Clark Nickels with the Fairbanks Police Department. I am calling regarding a Mr. Kevin Anderson. I was told you are a close friend of his, yes?"

"He's my boyfriend," I choked out, my heart starting to race. "Is he okay?"

"Well, that's what I'm trying to find out. Mr. Anderson's boss called earlier today to report that Kevin never showed up for work this morning. He said Kevin never misses work without prior notice or at least calling in. We called Mr. Anderson's mother but she said she hasn't heard from him in over a week, so we decided to go to his home. His car was in the driveway, but Mr. Anderson was nowhere to be seen. I need to know if you have seen or heard from him today or if you know if he had any plans?"

"N-no," I stuttered, shock creeping in. "I sent him a text earlier today and he never responded."

"And when did you see Kevin last Ms. Miller?"

"Last night, he came over to my house and we had dinner," I answered, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. "But I haven't seen him since he went home for the night."

"And what time did he leave your house?"

"It was around 9."

"So you haven't heard from him since?"

"No I haven't," I whispered, still letting this information sink in.

"Okay, well thank you for talking with me Ms. Miller. If you hear from him please let us know and we'll do the same. In the meantime, we are going to have an officer stake out his home in case he returns. If we haven't found out where he is by tomorrow morning, he will be classified as a missing person and we will initiate a search beginning at his home."

Officer Nickels left his contact information for me and then hung up, promising they would do their best to find him. As soon as the call ended, I brought up Kevin's name on my phone and hit call. It went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, I left him a panicked message telling him that the cops had called and to get back to me immediately when he got my message. I knew there was no point in continuing to call since it had gone right to his voicemail. I slumped against the wall next to the couch and slid down it as uncontrollable sobs began working their way through my body. When I had no more tears left, I laid down on my couch and tried to keep my thoughts from Kevin, but it was no use. Worry and fear of loss ate at me and prevented me from falling asleep until about 3am when my brain simply couldn't take anymore and I nodded off...

I had been expecting the now somewhat normal green to meet my eyes when I opened them, but I was back in the pine forest facing the startling man with slate grey eyes. His eyes seemed to pierce through me as he stared.

"You can't fight it forever, you know," his booming voice startled me, and it took me a few seconds to actually process his words.

"Fight what," I asked, thoroughly confused again.

"I know you've noticed the trembling, the muscles shaking."

"You are simply my subconscious bringing things from my day back into focus," I tried to shrug him off, but failed as my voice shook, wavering at the end.

He simply smiled triumphantly, knowing he had struck a nerve. "Don't worry, it isn't too bad after a while," he stated mysteriously.

"Would you stop talking like that and simply tell me what you're talking about?"

"Sorry, but you won't believe me until it happens," he replied simply again skirting my question and giving away nothing.

A frustrated growl escaped my lips and the man took an almost imperceptible step back. I grinned, knowing he was somewhat intimidated by me. However, he recovered quickly and added in a whisper, "It's not just me you're keeping waiting, you know."

"Look, my mind is already stressed, and I just need sleep, can't you leave me alone," I asked like it would make a difference.

The man shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's enough for now just knowing that you will find out soon."

At that he slipped back into the forest and I sank into the much welcomed darkness...


	9. Chapter 9

I was awoken only a few hours later by the shrill ring of my phone going off, again. Remembering last night, I jumped to my feet and dashed to grab it off the charger, hoping Kevin had been found. It was "Unknown" again, and my hands shook as I tapped the screen to answer.

"Hello," I breathed my voice still strained with sleep.

"I'm sorry to call and wake you so early Ms. Miller, but this is Officer Nickels."

"Have you heard from him," I couldn't help but cut him off.

"Um, unfortunately no, and I'm afraid I have some worse news." My heart started pounding in my ears and it was a good thing my senses were unusually strong again today or I wouldn't have heard what Officer Nickels said next. "At 7am this morning, Kevin was officially declared a missing person since his boss said that was when his shift was supposed to start yesterday. Well, we had no choice but to force entry into his home at that point to initiate our missing person search. While conducting our investigation, I'm sorry to say that we discovered signs of a struggle and a small trail of blood leading out the back door of his house and ending at the edge of the forest. We will be bringing in search dogs to track further. In the meantime, Kevin's house and yard have been corded off as a police scene. We are not sure why this supposed attack happened as there appears to be nothing missing from the house. We also don't have any leads yet on possible suspects. I will keep you updated on any further developments. I'm sorry to have to tell you all this," he concluded somewhat awkwardly.

I was at a loss for words for several moments until I recovered enough to respond, "Th-Thanks for l-letting me know," my voice broke at the end as I hung up my phone, collapsing again into sobs. I knew that the chances of finding somebody went down by half within the first 24 hours, and Kevin had been missing for at least that. As I began to regain control of my breathing, I jumped at an unexpected tapping on my door. I ran to open it, but frowned slightly when I saw who was on the other side. Then it dawned on me, "Crap, I'm late for work! I'm so sorry Monica, I forgot to set my alarm last night, it was kind of a long one." I couldn't stop the small sniffle that followed.

"I don't care that you're late for work! Damn it Crystal, you gave me a huge scare! You didn't show up, you didn't even call! After last night, I was worried sick. I left Carla in charge of the shop as soon as she got there and came straight here. Why didn't you answer your phone," she frowned at the end of her tirade.

"I was on the phone with a police officer. Monica, Kevin's missing..."

"What," she blinked, clearly dazed.

"Yeah, a Fairbanks police officer called last night saying Kevin's boss called in because he never showed up for work, and, uh, didn't call," I added in bashfully, knowing I had done the same thing to her this morning.

Monica narrowed her eyes slightly at me, but then motioned for me to continue as she knew I wasn't done yet.

"Well, he called again this morning to let me know he was now officially a missing person and that they had to force entry into his home to start a search. They found a trail of blood leading to the forest, and now they're bringing in dogs to continue tracking," my voice finally cracked at the end and I began sobbing again.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Monica breathed before pulling me into a giant hug. We sat like that on my couch for a few minutes while I cried on her shoulder. "Well, you are certainly not going into work anytime soon. Have you eaten anything yet today," she asked softly.

I shook my head and she walked towards the kitchen. "What are you doing," I asked as I followed her.

"Making you breakfast," she shrugged like it should have been obvious. I began to argue, but my grumbling stomach cut me off and I just frowned at the counter.

"You don't have to do that," I mumbled.

"And you are in no shape to be dealing with hot cooking objects," she shot back and I decided to drop it, knowing I wasn't going to win.

Monica stayed silent while she cooked and piled up the two plates of food. I dug in appreciatively and had finished my plate in no time. It seemed like nothing was going to lower my increased appetite. I thanked Monica and started to clear the dishes until she shot me a nasty look that said she would be doing it instead.

"Seriously, thanks for everything Mon," I whispered as she scrubbed the pans.

"You know I don't mind at all. You're like family, my dear, and you'll just have to live with that."

I couldn't help but smile at her words. It was nice to know I had somebody to lean on with all the things that had gone wrong. Monica stayed through the afternoon and forced me to let her make lunch. I called Officer Nickels after to see if they had any news, but he didn't answer. Frustrated, I told Monica I wanted to go to his house to try and get answers there.

"I don't know Crys," she frowned. "If it's corded off, they probably don't want people poking around. Besides, do you really want to put yourself through that?"

"Well, I can't sit here any longer wondering about it. I need to do something."

"Alright, if you're sure. But I'm driving," she added in before I could argue. I narrowed my eyes slightly but agreed, knowing if we got bad news there I wouldn't be in any shape to drive. My heart was pounding in my head as we pulled up. I climbed out of Monica's car and was instantly overwhelmed by the sight in front of me.

This is not happening to me again, I thought as the panic threatened to overwhelm me. The police scene in front of me told a different story, however. I was about to lose my only companion, again, and suddenly, a hauntingly familiar scent met my nose, making me quiver in that weird way again...

Forcing myself from that train of thought, I spotted a couple of Kevin's friends and hoped that maybe they had heard something. I decided to ask Kevin's friend Sid since I knew him better than Cody, who was standing next to him.

"Have you heard anything since this morning," I asked, but Sid just shook his head, obviously not trusting his voice.

I sighed before deciding to ask one of 2 officers who had just stepped over the crime scene tape.

"Have you guys found anything new," I asked.

The officer who had first stepped over the tape eyed me disdainfully before asking, "And you are?"

"Crystal Miller, Kevin's girlfriend," I growled out.

"Well, Ms. Miller, I'm sorry but I can't divulge any information on this case at the moment as we are looking into foul play since blood was discovered at the scene. In fact, you are the last known person to have seen him alive. If I were you I'd stick around town."

"What is that supposed to mean," I shuddered indignantly, my muscles spasming slightly as anger filled me.

"Just that the circumstances make you look a little suspicious to me," he replied somewhat snidely. "Have a nice day," he tacked on in the end before turning on his heels and heading to one of the patrol cars parked along the street.

I stood there gaping after him until a voice next to me made me jump.

"Don't listen to what Officer Cranden said. He's just hoping to be the one to solve the case so it can go on his record. It would be the only one he's cracked in 5 years." I recognized the voice as Officer Nickels.

"Am I really under investigation," I asked him shakily.

"Well, we're not ready to rule out any possibility at the moment, but you are definitely not a top suspect like Cranden implied, and I don't think you will be any time soon." I raised my eyebrows questioningly at this. "I knew your dad," he explained. "I also know all about what happened after the accident and it shows that you and Kevin were very close. We will try our best to find out who did this, you can be sure of that."

Without another word, Officer Nickels strode back to the scene where a couple of dogs with search and rescue vests had just arrived. The situation became very real as Officer Nickels held out pieces of Kevin's clothes for the dogs to get the scent. I searched out Monica, I couldn't be here any longer, the anxiety was creeping in again. I saw her standing near Sid, staring directly at me. I had a feeling she had been watching me during my conversations with the officers since she had a questioning look on her face.

As I reached her I whispered, "Can we go back to my house please?"

Monica cocked an eyebrow at me and led the way back to her car. "So you gonna tell me what that was all about," she cut to the chase as soon as we started back towards my place.

I sighed deeply then recounted my conversations with Officers Cranden and Nickels to her.

"I can't believe that shithead honestly thinks that _you_ could have done something to Kevin," she huffed at the end.

"At least Officer Nickels thinks I'm okay," I whispered, just wanting to forget about the whole thing.

"Don't worry sweetheart, anybody they talk to will back you up. We all know how much you care for Kevin."

I muttered, "Thanks," then went back to staring out my window. As Monica pulled up to my house, I turned to her. "I appreciate everything you did today, but I just really want to be alone for a little while. I need some time to sort out my thoughts by myself."

"Okay," she sounded somewhat unsure, but wasn't about to argue. "Just promise to call me if you need _anything._"

"I promise," I said as I pulled her into a tight hug before exiting the car and walking slowly back into my house.

As I slid the deadbolt in place, I started to rethink being alone as my thoughts centered back on my conversation with Officer Jackass, as I had aptly nicknamed the jerk. I couldn't believe he thought I might have something to do with this in the first place. The fact that he had basically accused me of causing harm to Kevin just made it worse.

An anger more intense than I had ever known began coursing through my veins. I felt a surge of hatred for whoever was responsible for Kevin disappearing, wishing I could rip them apart myself. My heart started pounding faster as a gentle tingling sensation rippled through my body, the muscle spasms getting more severe. I took in a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm myself, but to no avail. The anger continued to build, until I felt like I might explode from the pressure. What was a gentle tingling now became a sharp stinging that kept rolling over my body in waves.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I rushed out my back door and into the fresh air. That backfired as the sickly sweet smell slammed into me and strong convulsions began wracking through my body, causing me to fall forward onto my hands and knees and squeeze my eyes shut against the intensity. The anger hadn't ebbed any, in fact it had continued to grow and grow until I yelled out from the frustration, pain and confusion. An intense burning took over the stinging sensation and my entire body felt like it was melting. The strongest convulsion yet shook my very core and an intense rush of heat hit my body as I felt a strange popping along my spine and in all my joints. I barely registered a strange ripping sound as, with one last mighty convulsion, all the sensations stopped almost as abruptly as they had begun.

I took in a few more deep breaths, hoping my "episode" had passed. It was a few minutes until I trusted myself to try and stand. As I did, however, I realized there was something seriously wrong with my legs. My calves felt like they were facing the wrong direction and as soon as I heaved myself off the ground, I felt my legs shake until I fell back onto my hands as I forced my still closed eyes open. A loud yelp forced its way out as I finally realized something was seriously wrong. Where my hands should have been there were two massive paws covered in snow white fur. I swung my head around to check the rest of my body, and sure enough, the same fur had erupted along all of my body, ending in a fluffy white tail. Panicked, I automatically broke out in a run, all four paws pounding against the ground. I didn't stop until I reached the lake closest to my house and shakily looked into the water. Staring back at me was the reflection of a massive stark white wolf.

The only thought I could manage at this point was, 'What the hell am I?'


	10. Chapter 10

Time seemed to slow down as I continued to stare at my reflection, memorizing every detail. Even though it was dark out, I could make out everything perfectly, including my ice blue eyes, the only things that seemed to have remained unchanged. A jolt of panic rushed through me as I wondered if I was stuck like this. I forced myself to calm down, not wanting to lose control of myself while like this. When my head was clear again, I noticed my sharp senses which then became somewhat overwhelming. I could easily detect other things around me including something small scampering through dry leaves to my left and hooves hitting the ground farther out behind me. Just as I was getting a handle on it all, I felt a gentle rippling sensation that seemed to originate on the edge of my consciousness. Then a voice rang loud and clear, almost like it came from somewhere inside my head.

"This time you're not getting away," it growled out in deep tones.

"What the hell," my mind reeled in shock as I looked around and inhaled deeply, desperately trying to identify the source of the voice.

The voice yelped, "Who and exactly what the hell are you?"

I found it funny that I had just been asking myself almost the exact same question earlier and visions of my reflection flashed through my brain automatically. The voice reeled as though taken aback and snarled, "What the fuck was that? What did you just do to me?"

I didn't quite know how to answer that as I had no clue what he was talking about.

"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about," the voice bit out.

It was my turn to snarl, "Where are you and how do you know what I'm thinking?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. Why am I so comforted by the fact that I'm not the only one?"

"The only what," I couldn't help but ask in my head. At the edge of my thoughts flashed images of a magnificent silver wolf that had to be another giant like myself.

"Is that you," I exclaimed.

"I didn't want her to see that," the voice gasped.

"You didn't?"

"Oh great, I can't control what gets through, that's just perfect."

"I have got to be dreaming," I thought even though it felt too intense not to be real. "I had to have passed out from the spasms, and my subconscious is just running away with my dreams. When I wake up, I'll be myself and none of this will have happened."

"Keep trying to convince yourself, it won't work," the voice cut in.

"Get out of my head," I ground out in my thoughts.

"Wish I could, but I can't. Besides, I can help you."

"I don't want your help," I snapped.

"Trust me, you do. It's not easy being alone when you change for the first time."

"Change." Did that mean I wasn't stuck like this?

"No, you're not stuck," he chuckled softly. "I can tell you how to change back if you want. Actually, you'd be amazed at all the things I could save you from finding out the hard way."

"How long have you been like this," I asked, now curious. What kinds of things did he know? How much more could there possibly be to this?

"I know a lot, and it's been about 4 months since the first time I changed. This goes a lot deeper than you'd think." I was again bombarded by a rush of images; a flash of evergreens passing as paws pounded the earth, another flash and the silver wolf was breaking a tree in half, almost as if it was thrown against it, flash and the same wolf was healing a cut with unreal speed. The next image had my full attention automatically. It seemed to be a human being, but something told me it was way more dangerous.

"You mean to tell me you haven't even encountered one yet? Your instincts about them are spot on, though," he added on as if amazed. I didn't know whether or not to be insulted by that.

"If they're not human than what are they," I asked.

"Blood sucking demons. Normal people would call them vampires, I guess."

I found this incredibly hard to believe and balked internally.

"You turn into a giant wolf and you find this piece of information hard to swallow," he scoffed. "I've had the distinct displeasure of encountering one during a, uh, feeding," he bit out the last word.

Images of the same human-looking creature, a female with long light brown hair and a pale, almost white complexion flashed across my periphery. Below her lay an older man, gaunt, drawn and clearly dead. But I zeroed in on the eyes of the so-called vampire, a deep bloody red that made all the fur on my back stand on end. Then he recalled the smell, an overly sweet, almost acidic odor which instantly peaked my interest. I immediately began to recall all of the occasions when I had come across that smell, stopping with a gasp on the one involving the beautiful woman with strawberry blond hair. I remembered how pale she was, the only thing different about her appearance was the pair of eyes which were deep gold.

That captured his interest for some reason. "I've never seen one with that color of eyes before, he answered my query before I could voice it. He mentally shook his head, still confused.

"Did she kill that man," I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

"Yes, she drained him before I was able to catch up. They're actually pretty quick. Superhuman fast, as a matter of fact." I tried to ponder that, but couldn't picture it. For some reason this seemed to amuse the wolf. "You can't see it? Have you even run yet?"

I instantly recalled my run to the lake, and suddenly realized that the trek which would have normally taken me twenty minutes lasted around two instead. I saw the trees flying by so fast they should have been a blur, but I could still make out the minute details. My mind must have adjusted during the "change" so I didn't notice it before.

"That and running comes very natural to us."

"Have you met any others besides me?" He seemed to know a lot about the norms for...whatever the hell we were.

"Werewolves."

"Excuse me," I prompted, caught off guard by his response.

"That's what we are, essentially. And, no, I haven't met any others, I'm just assuming that the extra abilities must be normal for our kind."

"Do you know anything about how or why we change or what this is caused by?"

"Ah, sorry, no. Like I just told you, you're the first other one I've met. I'm just telling you things based on my experiences. But, I'm pretty positive the vampires have something to do with it."

"So you had to find out all of this on your own," awe crept into my tone.

"Yeah, and let me tell you, it wasn't exactly what I would call fun."

"Can you still tell me how to change back," I had suddenly remembered his earlier offer. My mind seemed to change tracks rather easily to focus on many things at once.

"You get used to that after a while. Not so sure about the hearing thoughts thing, though."

"Maybe it's similar to holding a conversation with each other," I suggested. "It's just our anatomy in this forms prevents the normal route. Maybe it runs under the same principles and it's just luck that we're close enough to hear each other."

"I don't think so," he cut in. "I can pick up on smells pretty quickly, especially new ones, and I think I would have noticed yours. Where exactly are you?"

I couldn't help but trust him for some reason, and he had been helpful enough so I decided to just go with it. "I'm at a small lake near Denali Park."

"Wait, isn't that in Alaska," this definitely bothered him.

"Yeah," I answered uncertainly. "Why is that so odd?"

"Because I'm near Ontario, Canada," he answered softly. "Don't know why it's so surprising, our kind are extreme in all other aspects."

"Such as what," he had my full interest again.

"Strength, size, speed, senses. It's the only way I've been able to track the vampire."

"Track?"

"I keep forgetting you haven't met one yet," he thought with an edge of frustration. "It's hard to explain, but the first time I encountered that scent I felt compelled to seek out the source and destroy it."

I remembered a similar drive that had taken over me during one of my hikes, and it all made sense finally. Then another thought hit me, "Do you think you could find me? It might make it easier for you to explain how to change back."

"Trust me, you are gonna want to be alone when you do that."

"Why," I asked impatiently. His reactions were so strange sometimes.

"You'll see. It's simple enough, and should be even easier since you seem to be in control of your emotions."

"Is it harder if you're not?"

"You have no idea. When I first changed, it took me two days to even get past my anger enough to realize what was going on, let alone how to reverse it. You seem to be much better at it. Anyway, just focus very clearly only on what you look like normally. It may take awhile the first time," he warned.

I took in a deep breath and brought myself into my mind, trying to block out everything else. My heightened senses made it slightly difficult. I forced myself to focus harder and suddenly the tingling spread across my body, the stinging, popping and melting all passed much quicker this time and in a few short seconds I straightened my back and stood fully. My mind instantaneously seemed vacant, the connection gone. It must only be possible in that form, I thought.

I needed to see my reflection just to make sure it had gone properly. A gasp escaped my throat as I realized I was butt naked. That asshole didn't warn me about this! Anger rolled back through me and the tingling edged back in.

* * *

**AN:** Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, that was quick," the voice stated, clearly amused.

"Shut it. You might have warned me."

"About what specifically?"

"About my clothes not coming back with me during my change."

"_That's_ what triggered your anger to spike that high so fast? I thought I was temperamental at first, but damn. Maybe you aren't as calm as I thought."

"What are you talking about," I bristled, feeling there was a hidden insult in his words.

"After the first change, it won't be too difficult to trigger your anger, making you take the wolf form almost instinctively. The first few weeks are the hardest, when you will be the most uncontrollable, and you'll probably go through a lot of clothes, too."

"Uncontrollable," I thought, my mind and heart beginning to race. Could I have had something to do with Kevin disappearing but not remember?

"What are you talking about," he was definitely interested and I cursed my lack of control over my own thoughts.

"None of your damn business," I growled, but before I could stop them, memories of the past couple of days flooded my mind. Why the hell can't I control my thoughts?

"No, it's all good. Actually, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Trust me, you would have remembered if you had changed before. All memories after that point are extremely clear and permanent. It's odd, almost like your brain shifts and opens up and all your senses come to life for the first time. It can be a little overwhelming in the beginning, but I swear you get used to it. Not all of it is bad. We heal extremely fast, and of course, running is awesome."

"Anything else," I asked, though I wasn't sure if I could handle much more information at this point.

"Well, like I said, we seem to be linked to the 'vampires' somehow. It can't be competition because we don't feed off humans. It's definitely instinctual to hunt them down, but that's also very difficult."

I was getting too tired to dwell on any of this for much longer.

"Crap, I didn't realize how long we'd been, uh, 'talking' I guess. You should change back and get some sleep. I'm probably going to go catch a few hours myself, since my distraction allowed the vampire I was tracking to get away," he added in slyly.

"Well, maybe if you were better skilled my presence wouldn't have had so much of an effect on you," I snickered back.

"Oh, you are going to be trouble. At least you share my sense of humor. I would like to continue helping you, though. I wasn't joking when I said that some parts are not fun to experience, but hopefully you won't have to find everything out the hard way. I would like to actually interact face to face in a few hours, if that's okay with you of course."

I suddenly got the strange feeling that he not only wanted my permission, but he _needed_ it.

"Yeah, it's a weird sensation that I can't explain, but I guarantee if you said no right now, I wouldn't be able to."

"That is odd," I agreed. "But that actually sounds like a great idea to me, so don't worry about it."

It felt a little awkward at this point, like neither one of us knew how to simply end the conversation. He suggested that we 'meet up' again in 9 hours by both changing at the same time. While saying goodbye, I suddenly realized I didn't even know his name.

"It's Jason."

"I'm Crystal. I'd say it was nice meeting you, but neither of us really had a choice."

He laughed at that before saying goodbye again and with a light shimmer, disappeared from my head. I let myself focus on me as a human, the tingling passing even quicker this time than before. Just after I had done that, though, I realized that I was still at the lake, and didn't have clothes with me. I immediately changed again and ran back to my house, sniffing the air the whole time to ensure that nobody was around to see me. Thankful that my house backed up to the woods, I bounded into my yard just as the sky began to lighten along the horizon. I quickly changed again, and ran inside, noting the shreds of my ruined clothing as I went, and finally understanding one of Jason's earlier comments about going through clothes quickly after the first change.

After slipping on my silk pajama set, I wanted nothing else but to collapse into bed, but knew I needed to at least call Monica first or she would inevitably freak out again. Of course, she was more than willing to come over, but I assured her that all I needed was sleep. The last thing I wanted was to lose control of myself while she was around, I shuddered at the thought. While hanging up, I became painfully aware that my stomach was empty. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't eat first, I practically inhaled a couple of pb&j sandwiches before finally crawling into bed. Exhausted, I immediately drifted off to sleep...

I was startled to see bright green as I opened my eyes. It seemed like forever since I last had one of these dreams, instead of a couple of days. The wolf glanced at me timidly from a distance, looking almost as if it was waiting to be reprimanded. Then it hit me, "You're a werewolf, too, aren't you?"

The wolf grimaced, the hilarity of seeing such a human expression on the giant wolf made me giggle. The wolf immediately relaxed at the sound and bounded toward me. I continued to laugh as its whole body wriggled with excitement. I reached out and ran my hand through the thick silver and tan fur, revelling in how soft it was. When I looked up, I gazed straight into the wolf's eyes for the first time in this dream. My stomach gave a strange lurch as I gazed deeply into the deep chocolate pools which strangely changed to a deep amber as we continued to hold each other's gaze. The last thing I remember before slipping into a dreamless sleep was drowning in those pools of amber...


	12. Chapter 12

I awoke with a start when my alarm went off, instantly alert, body tensed. Laughing at myself, I shook my head and stretched out, revelling in the feel of my muscles contracting then relaxing. All of a sudden, the previous night came rushing back into my mind. Had any of it actually happened or was it all just a dream? I chastised myself, there was no way I could have dreamt all of that, it was way too intense in my memory.

My back up alarm went off at that point, pulling me from my thoughts. With a shock, I realized I only had 15 minutes before I was supposed to talk with Jason again. After eating a stack of toaster waffles and chugging a large glass of orange juice I changed into shorts and a tank top before running out my back door and into the cover of the woods. I didn't want to be in wolf form while in my house, I shuddered at the thought of how much unintentional damage I would probably cause.

I inhaled deeply, searching for anybody in the area before shedding my clothes, stowing them in a knot in a large tree. Then I cleared my brain and focused solely on my wolf form and the tingles spread, followed immediately by the popping and seconds later, I fell forward onto all fours, a wolf once again. This was going to take some getting used to.

"I was beginning to think you stood me up or something," Jason's voice startled me and I jumped slightly, making him chuckle. "A little reactive are we?"

"In the past 24 hours, I found out that I turn into a giant hairy wolf which hunts down vampires, forgive me if I'm a little paranoid," I snarked back. My voice dropped into a softer tone, "Sorry, still trying to come to terms with everything I guess."

"No worries. Like I said, we can be quite volatile the first few weeks after the change, I pretty much expect it."

"Well, I'm still sorry for biting your head off," I chuckled at my own choice of words.

"Don't laugh at that, if you really wanted to rip my head off, you probably could."

"What," I remarked, caught off guard by another of his strange comments.

"We are incredibly strong, we have to be to hunt down vampires."

"Oh," I stated, still trying to wrap my head around that. It was just hard to imagine having that much power.

"Swipe at an adult tree with your paw, you'll kind of get an idea of what I'm talking about," Jason suggested.

I tentatively approached a large spruce, hesitant of actually hitting it for fear of breaking something.

"Trust me, you'll be fine," Jason assured me and I couldn't deny the confidence in his voice.

I pulled back my front right leg before swinging it forward, striking the spruce with a full blown hit. I didn't feel a thing, but the tree cracked where I had hit, falling forward onto one of its neighbors. I gasped in shock at how easy it was to break a fully grown tree.

Jason laughed at my surprise, "Pretty awesome, huh?"

"More like unbelievable. How do you honestly get used to something like that?"

"Trust me, you will, it just takes time. Soon enough, your strength, senses, and all that will be second nature and you won't notice it as much. You still need to be careful, though, especially if you interact with people in the near future. So, are we going to actually do this or what?"

"Sure, where do you want to meet?"

"Why don't I come to you? It will be easier for you if you're in an environment you're familiar with."

"Easier?"

"I want to show you different aspects of being a wolf to make sure you're comfortable with everything. Then, I will tell you more about vampires and the dangers they present. I also want to check for any that might be in your area. I don't want one of them to surprise you while you're still so new to all of this."

"Ok," I agreed a little reluctantly.

"Don't worry, I won't make you do anything you're not comfortable with yet. Are you in the same place as last night?"

I nodded before realizing he couldn't see me. "Yeah, but I'm not at the lake, I'm closer to my house."

"And you're sure that you're okay with me being there," he asked.

"Now who's the one hesitating," I couldn't help but tease.

"It's just you're so new to this, I don't want to risk either of us getting hurt."

"Are we really that uncontrollable?"

"In the beginning, yes. But I've also never encountered another wolf, so I'm not sure what type of reaction your scent will trigger. I don't think it will be negative, after all we have some odd connection with the thought thing. I'm just going to run to Denali Park then make my way slowly to you. That way, I will be able to find your scent before actually meeting face to face."

"Okay," I said, now a little unsure.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling there won't be any problems."

"Are you already running?"

"Yes, I'm still near Ontario, but it will probably take me about fifteen minutes to reach Denali Park. I've been there once, but it was years ago when I was really young."

"That quick?"

"I told you we're incredibly fast, otherwise we wouldn't be able to keep up with the vampires we hunt."

"Is our strength comparable to theirs, too, then?"

"Exactly. Damn you catch on quick."

"You seem to be surprised by my intelligence often," I growled lowly.

He chuckled. "Well, you certainly put the pieces together quicker than I did."

"I also have your expertise to guide me," I admitted a little sheepishly, again ashamed of my quick temper.

"At least you're able to get that temper under control quickly. When I first changed, it was so hard to snap back from the rage."

"Well, I appreciate you helping me. I couldn't imagine going through all of this solo, that must have been very difficult."

"You have no idea," Jason mumbled.

We both fell silent at this point, trying to keep our heads clear so Jason could concentrate on where he was going.

"I'm crossing the Alaska state line."

I was taken aback by how the time had flown by, and anxiety at my possible reaction to another wolf began to rise.

"Crystal, you need to calm down, you're making _me _nervous, girl."

"Sorry, I just don't want to hurt you after you've been so helpful and willing to put up with my attitude." I was worried about driving off the only thing that made sense in the past couple of days.

"Just breathe, and focus on calming down, okay?"

"Alright," I whispered, still uneasy, but forcing my brain to focus on deep breaths.

"I'm passing into Denali Park now... Motherfucker!"

"What? Are you okay, what's going on?"

"This park reeks of vampires, there's gotta be at least four unique scents," Jason growled, agitated.

"You can tell how many there are by scent alone?"

"Yeah, it's just another thing that seems to come naturally to our kind. While all vampire scents have an acrid tinge to it, there are subtle differences we can pick up on. I just wasn't expecting to come across so many of them so soon. I've only seen them in pairs or by themselves before, I didn't know they made such big groups. I may have to rework how I want to proceed with everything, though. One of them is dangerous enough, but if a group that large came across either of our scents, we would have no chance if they attacked."

I was stricken by how strong these things must have been if they presented a real threat to us. Then something else Jason said clicked in my brain. "Wait, you said if they catch our scent... So are their senses as defined as ours?"

"I think so, but we'll talk more about how to deal with their presence later. How do I get to you from the park?" Jason was feeling really uneasy being out in the open alone so close to the vampires' scents.

The anxiety of finally meeting Jason started to creep back in and I fought to control my breathing as I replied, "You just entered the east end of the park, right?"

"That's what the sign said."

"Head straight south, and you'll come across Talooska Lake after about twenty miles. Head southeast from there, or if you want, you can follow my scent. That's where I was last night."

We went back and forth during the impossibly short minutes until he reached the lake. He picked up on my scent immediately and stopped, testing himself. When he was certain he had full control over himself, he slowly began making his way towards me, scanning my thoughts the whole way. The wind shifted when he was only a few miles away, and I picked up on a slightly musky, woodsy scent with a touch of pine. A tremble spread through my body and Jason paused briefly.

"It's okay," I thought, not sure if I was trying to convince Jason or myself.

He moved forward again, going even slower than before until he was only two miles away. "I'm coming through the clearing now," he warned.

The woodsy scent became stronger and before I knew it, I could just barely hear what sounded like giant pads hitting the forest floor. If my hearing wasn't so good, he would have been completely silent. A knot formed in my stomach as the paws came closer, weaving through the trees until the unmistakable form of a giant wolf emerged from the treeline...


	13. Chapter 13

Jason fully emerged, and I was taken back for a few seconds by his size. Even though he was only about 3-4 inches taller than myself, he was definitely bulkier.

"Are you calling me fat," he snorted, instantly lightening the mood. All the tension dissipated as we both cracked huge, wolfy grins.

"Sorry, I didn't realize your weight was a sensitive issue," I giggled in my mind. It was clear that the two of us being near each other was not going to be an issue like we had feared.

No longer anxious, I began to take in Jason's features more clearly. Most of his massive body was covered in bright silver fur, but his front paws and chest were stark white. The bulk I had noted earlier was actually a solid wall of muscle, and I got the distinct feeling that he was stronger than me. This seemed to appease him a little too much and I growled playfully, which made him back track and look properly abashed. I shook with laughter again, and his steel gray eyes lightened up instantly. Noticing his eyes, I gasped, I had seem them before, and with a flash of mahogany I recalled the male from two of my dreams.

"How do you know what I look like?" Jason was definitely freaked out now.

"I dreamed about you a couple of times in the last two weeks," I admitted, shocked. My dreams came flooding into mind, and he was stunned into silence for several minutes. My mind continued to race; if he was real, could that possibly mean that the gray wolf with tan markings was also real?

This snapped Jason out of his surprised state, "You mean you dreamed about another wolf before you even changed? Weird, I wonder what the hell that's all about."

"You were more informative on these matters in my dreams," I joked, trying to lighten the mood again.

Jason grinned, "Sorry, but like I told you before, I don't know anything other than what I've experienced for myself."

"So you never had these kinds of dreams?"

"Nope, but with our connection, I guess it's not so far fetched that you have. After all, I was already a wolf so maybe your subconscious was already tapping into the thought connection before you changed."

I never would have thought of that, but it still didn't explain the gray wolf with tan markings, which frustrated me. I shook my head, knowing that now was not the time to lose my temper, especially since there were bigger things Jason and I needed to discuss, like the group of vampires that were apparently too close for comfort.

"That is something to think about," Jason agreed with my train of thoughts.

"You said that their strenght made them a danger to us?"

"Yes, they are the only things I have come across that appear to have abilities that rival our own. Their presence also seems to be required for us to change initially as well. It's almost like we are made to kill one another, but this is all just my speculation."

"How many of them have you actually encountered?"

"Only seven, but that was enough for me to somewhat observe and experience their traits. I encountered the first one about 1 week after I changed for the first time. I accidentally came across her scent, and couldn't ignore the drive to follow and hunt her down," Jason shook his head sadly.

"When I finally found her, she was draining my best friend's father who had basically been like a parent to me as well. As you can imagine, I became infuriated rather quickly, and was able to see what she was right away. She was definitely surprised to see me, but didn't back down. I charged her, and managed to tear off a hand before she cracked my right front leg, shattering it with a single strike. I didn't expect her strength, and my underestimating allowed her to escape, but probably also saved my life, although I didn't know it at the time. The bones mended in a matter of hours, and that's how I learned about our healing abilities."

"What happened to the vampire," I asked, more than a little unsettled now that there was a large group of these things nearby.

"She grabbed her hand and ran, I haven't caught her again like that to this day, though not for lack of trying."

"Wait, she's the one you were hunting last night, isn't she?"

"Yep. I actually ran into the other six vampires while hunting her, realizing each one has its own scent. The second one I encountered wasn't expecting me at all," Jason muttered darkly. Images of him tearing the stunned male into pieces sprang into my mind, and I shuddered slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so graphic," Jason dipped his head down sheepishly. "I was surprised he didn't notice me coming, and instinct took over. I knew that if I didn't destroy him than he would kill me having inadvertently snuck up on him like I did. However, something nagged at the back of my brain that he wasn't finished off, and sure enough when I looked back, some of the pieces were sliding back to each other. It freaked me out and I accidentally backed into a fire in the campsite he was ravaging. Of course, my temper flared when I singed myself and I stupidly swiped at the fire. But it turns out that was a stroke of dumb luck, because the pieces of the vampire that touched the burning wood burst into flame themselves. I picked up what was left and dropped it in the fire. They turned to ash after releasing a strong acidic odor, and I knew then that he was gone."

I once again found myself in awe of the wolf before me. He had been through so much on his own, and had to find out so much the hard way.

"Thanks, but I've honestly just been lucky up to this point. The other vampires I've encountered haven't been too keen on fighting me, and I must say the feeling is mutual. In fact, only the pair made an attempt, the rest took off as soon as they saw me, not that I blame them, we are pretty evenly matched in a one on one situation."

"What happened with the pair," I asked out of curiosity.

"I stumbled into their path while tracking the female, their scents came out of nowhere. Before I knew it, they were right behind me, a large male and small female. Apparently my scent made them curious, and I assume they had never encountered it before. I think our scent evokes a similar response to them as theirs does to us because I turned just as the male attacked, seemingly out of instinct. I was able to dodge him, but the female was quicker, and she swept my feet out from under me while I avoided her companion. The wind was knocked out of me, and of course this flared up my anger and I charged her. I sliced her arm in half at the elbow; judging by her reaction, I don't believe they thought I was capable of inflicting so much damage. The male was enraged when he saw what I had done and slammed into me, making my body go flying into a group of trees. I broke my back left leg and 3 ribs on impact, but luckily the pair thought it best not to tempt fate further and took off. I obviously didn't follow them, and it certainly made me more cautious in my approach to vampires in the future."

"So was the second vampire you encountered the only one you've killed then?"

"No, I went for one other that I caught during a feeding. She was feasting on a young girl who couldn't have been more than 8 years old. I saw red and knew I wasn't going to be able to stop myself from attacking. Unfortunately, this female noticed my presence unlike the male I destroyed, which made things way trickier. I was eventually able to grab her by the throat, and well, you can probably guess the rest," he added on, trying to gauge my reaction to this new found knowledge of him. He wasn't sure how I was taking knowing that he was a "murderer" even if he was killing a different kind of monster.

"I don't think you're a monster," I softly reassured him. "You killed things which feed off human blood, you've probably saved quite a few people. Besides you were acting almost purely on instinct, if I was to come across their scent I can guarantee you my reaction wouldn't be any different right now."

Jason perked up at my opinion, but then grew very serious. "Exactly, which is why I think you are not exactly safe in this area. If you come across one of the group member's scents near here, you could unintentionally walk into a situation where you are vastly outnumbered. I think it best if we continue our discussions and if I start showing you the ins and outs of what we are in a different locale. That is, of course, if you'd still like to take me up on my offer to teach you knowing what I've done in my past."

"I told you I don't think I would have done any different in your place, but I do have some issues with leaving the area immediately. I have some things I need to take care of first."

My thoughts flashed to the shop, I would have to take an extended leave, which could very well become permanent, especially if it wasn't safe for me to be hanging around for now. I needed to let Monica know, and I was struck with the fact that I would very easily become a suspect in Kevin's murder if I disappeared all of a sudden. I certainly couldn't tell anybody what had happened, hell I'd be committed for sure. Jason snorted at this thought, but my glared made him look away guiltily. I was sure leaving was going to cause some serious repercussions, but I had no choice if I wanted to remain safe.

"Tell you what, I'll stick around for a couple of days while you tie up all your loose ends, that way if you are attacked, at least you'll have backup."

"That would make me feel a whole lot better, thanks," I breathed a sigh of relief at his offer and started formulating my plan.

"Don't mention it. I feel a strong bond with you Crystal, it's odd, but I feel like I'm in your control. Like I would follow you to the ends of the earth and back."

"I kind of know what you mean, I feel a pull to you. I just know I can trust you to protect me, but I would have your back in an instant if you needed it as well. I get the feeling that you would do anything I asked of you."

God, she's right, I don't know why she has this power over me, or why it's not scaring the hell out of me like it should be. "Sorry," he whispered apologetically, knowing I could still hear his inner ramblings.

"It's okay, you can't always control every little thing that pops into your head and you're entitled to your own opinion. Tell you what, why don't we go back to my house and phase back? I'll make something to eat," I tacked on, knowing he wouldn't be able to pass that up.

"Right again, you sharp little Crystal," he laughed at that while his stomach let out a giant rumbling growl.

"Let's go before your stomach eats itself," I giggled to which Jason growled playfully before following me towards my backyard.

"Crystal, my dear, I think this is the beginning of a b-e-a-u-tiful friendship," Jason sang out.

My laughter at his cheesiness carried the rest of the way to my house.


	14. Chapter 14

I called Monica and arranged for her to swing by my house during her lunch break at the shop as soon as I had phased back and dressed. I thanked my lucky stars that Jason carried a change of clothes in a pack on his leg because I knew for a fact I didn't have any guy clothes in my house. I slipped back into my living room after hanging up the phone to find Jason perusing my small collection of framed photos perched on the fireplace mantle. He was examining the picture of me, my dad and Kevin camping on my 14th birthday. The memory brought a tear to my eye which I wiped away quickly.

"That must be Kevin. I'm assuming you two have been together for awhile," Jason asked, having obviously seen my treacherous tear and recalled my mental vomit when he asked about it.

"Yeah, we started going out about two days after this picture was taken. My dad took it a lot better than either of us thought he would."

"He's the one on your right, isn't he?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak.

Jason picked up on my being choked up and asked softly, "What happened?"

His tone of voice calmed me a little and I swallowed thickly before explaining. "He passed away a couple of years ago when a drunk driver clipped his car, causing it to roll. I had been on him about being more sociable and he had gone out with a friend's cousin after much coaxing on my behalf. It became the worst night of my life." I didn't know why it was so easy to spill my guts to Jason, but I felt unusually comfortable talking to him about the heavier topics I tended to avoid with everybody else. Maybe it was because he would eventually find out anyways when they came up in my thoughts or maybe it was the weird, almost brotherly connection I felt towards him, but I seemed to have no problem baring the darker parts of my soul to him.

"I know how that type of thing feels and I'm very sorry you had to go through it," he whispered softly. His memory of the beautiful woman standing over the pallid man who he considered a father flashed through my mind.

"Thanks," I whispered back. It was nice to be close to somebody who had gone through something similar. Kevin's dad had passed away from a rare blood disorder when he was two, so he didn't have many memories of him at all. While he had tried very hard to understand where I was coming from after the accident, it seemed like he could never sympathize fully in the way I needed him to. I could barely think about being in Jason's place, having to witness the actual murder, not just death, of a father figure.

The rumbling of Jason's stomach broke the tension, and I was finally able to laugh for the first time since entering the house. "Let's get that thing fed before it causes an earthquake," I teased before making my way to the kitchen.

Jason snickered lightly as he followed behind me before gracefully sliding into one of the chairs at my table, his eyes roving over his surroundings. "Nice place you have here," he commented in an offhand sort of way.

"It was my dad's," I sighed. "I couldn't bear the thought of selling it, so I kept it after I turned 18." I smiled as I remembered Kevin's assertion of my sanity when I had made this choice. He'd been all for selling it for a hefty profit with all my dad's upgrades and renovations and moving into his slightly smaller house together. I didn't mind Kevin's place, it was nice, but I wasn't able to give up what had been my home all my life, even if it meant more upkeep and work than the alternative. We'd had a similar discussion regarding the pet store, and I still wasn't sure to this day how I was able to convince him to run it. Now all of that might have been for nothing, if I wasn't able to stay in this area much longer. I forced myself from that train of thought to focus on making breakfast.

Jason stayed lost in his own world until I placed the heaping plate in front of him. He snapped out of his reverie comically, making me giggle, and effectively breaking through the tension again. We both scarfed down our food while I groaned internally at the thought that my humongous appetite was here to stay. Jason snorted slightly as if he had caught where my thoughts had gone before shaking his head and diving back into his food. We ate in a comfortable silence until he pushed me out of the kitchen, claiming that the cook never cleans. I rolled my eyes and was about to answer with a retort when my doorbell rang and I instantly refocused. I knew this was going to be a rough discussion with Monica and that there was a good chance that she wouldn't understand, so I took my time walking to the door and answering it.

Monica bustled in past me, already starting in with her inquisition. "Alright so what exactly is going on here? All you mentioned when you set this up was that you need to leave for a bit for personal reasons. Where are you going? How long will you be away? Are you positive this is a good idea? You know, this whole Kevin situation isn't something you can just run away from, I know how your brain wor-"

"Mon," I finally cut in exasperatedly. "Slow down, and please only one question at a time I promise I'll explain as much as I can." She nodded mutely so I continued, "First off, this isn't about Kevin."

Monica opened her mouth as if to argue, but a hard glare from me made her close it again instantly. I was about to elaborate when a powerful realization struck me, making my stomach twist and drop uncomfortably. I saw a flash of Kevin's house as the acrid odor made its appearance. Could the presence of the smell at the place where Kevin had disappeared be connected somehow. I simultaneously noticed that at least now I wouldn't have to lie to Monica if I watched the wording.

"It's not about him, at least not in the way you think. However, I've learned some interesting facts in the past couple of days which have made me a bit nervous about how safe it is for me to be around here. I'm not sure how long it will be before I come back. I know this sounds a little crazy and I'm not going into specifics, but please Mon, I need you to back me up in this and to trust that I know what I'm doing."

Monica's face had slipped into a careful mask of concentration during my rant before she suddenly rushed to me and grabbed me in a hug. "Of course I'll trust you, Crystal, but you have me more than a little worried here. Did you find out something about Kevin that's bothering you? I mean, is that why you don't feel secure all of a sudden?"

"That's part of it," I admitted. "But, Monica, please don't worry about me. You know that I can take care of myself. While I'm gone, I need somebody to keep the store running smoothly. I've always been able to count on you, and I want to make it official by signing you in as part owner."

"Of course, Crystal, I'm honored that you thought of me."

"Who else," I giggled. "You've always been there for me, Monica, I know you love that place as much as I do. We can fill out all of the paperwork tomorrow, I know there won't be any issues there. I don't expect my leaving not to gain some unwanted scrutiny, though, and that may cause some problems. Because of that, I am going to transfer my funds to a new account with a friend's name on it, which I will maintain access to."

I knew Jason wouldn't have any issues with this, and I already trusted him implicitly. After we had hashed out some other details, Monica had to return to work after we agreed to finalize everything tomorrow. While she'd been relatively calm during today's discussion, I knew tomorrow was going to be completely different as I would be leaving after.

Jason, ever observant, picked up on my fatigue and suggested I take a short nap while he started on a stew, insisting his recipe was "mind-blowing." His word choice made me laugh, but I wasn't about to pass on the invitation of sleep. Tonight Jason wanted to check out the immediate area to ensure no major threats were close by, and I wanted to swing by Kevin's one last time. I wanted some good to come out of this, and that would start with making an attempt to sort out what had happened there. I drifted off thinking of what the best way to approach this would be...

My dreams were rapid and bright with one common theme I couldn't ignore as they all swam in an familiar deep amber.


End file.
